• The Kalahari Desert is a large, semi-desert in southern Africa, covering large parts of Botswana and Namibia. It sits on the region's interior plateau, with an average elevation of 3,000 feet above sea level. The San bushmen have lived in the Kalahari for up to 20,000 years. Theirs is the desert culture depicted in the 1980 film The Gods Must be Crazy.

    1. Area: 362,000 square miles
    2. "Kalahari" means "The Great Thirst" in the Tswana language MSN Encarta: Kalahari Desert Encyclopedia Article
    3. Location: southern Africa
    4. Rainfall: 8 inches per year MSN Encarta: Kalahari Desert Encyclopedia Article
    5. Surface water form: Boteti River
    6. Average temperature (max): 35 to 45 degrees C MSN Encarta: Kalahari Desert Encyclopedia Article
    7. Winter temperature can plummet below zero Celsius Journeys International: Kalahari Desert
    8. Not a true desert as it supports some plants and animals
    9. Has large mineral deposits, and one of the largest diamond mines in the world
    10. Home to Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor
    11. Climate: Semiarid

  • Wildlife

    Though nominally a desert, the Kalahari supports diverse wildlife, thanks to variable rains in the winter and spring, and a swampy region at its northern end. It contains the Central Kalahari Game Reserve—the second-largest in the world—with antelope, lions, hyenas and giraffes. The most famous of the region's wildlife, however, may be its meerkats, due to the success of Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor, filmed on-location in the Kalahari.

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